1. Applicant's Name: a. Application Date: 21 December 20200 b. Date Received: 21 December 2022 c. Counsel: 2. REQUEST, ISSUES, BOARD TYPE, AND DECISION: a. Applicant's Requests and Issues: The current characterization of service for the period under review is under other than honorable conditions. The applicant did not properly annotate the enclosed application requesting a possible discharge upgrade. The Army Discharge Review Board considered the applicant for a possible upgrade as instructed in pertinent part by Department of Defense Instruction 1332.28, which stipulates a request for review from an applicant without an honorable discharge shall be treated as a request for a change to an honorable discharge unless the applicant requests a specific change to another character of discharge. The applicant seeks relief contending, in effect, the Charge Sheet is false and prior service was not recognized. b. Board Type and Decision: In a telephonic personal appearance conducted on 6 February 2023, and by a 4-1 vote, the Board determined that the characterization of service was inequitable based on the applicant's PTSD outweighing the AWOL, disobedience, and wrongful possession, introduction, and use of controlled substances basis for separation Accordingly, the Board voted to grant relief in the form of an upgrade to the characterization of service to Honorable. The Board determined the narrative reason/SPD code were proper and equitable and voted not to change them. Please see Section 10 of this document for more detail regarding the Board's decision. (Board member names available upon request) 3. DISCHARGE DETAILS: a. Reason / Authority / Codes / Characterization: In Lieu of Trial by Court-Martial / AR 600-8-24, Chapter 3-13 / DFS / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions b. Date of Discharge: 27 April 2015 c. Separation Facts: (1) Date and Charges Preferred (DD Form 458, Charge Sheet): On 2 October 2014, the applicant was charged with: Charge I: Violating Article 80, UCMJ, for attempting to wrongfully introduce 294 tables of Tramadol, each with 50 mg dosage, a schedule IV-controlled substance onto an armed forces installation in Kosovo, on or about 30 August 2014. Charge II: Violating Article 81, UCMJ, for conspiring with CW4 L. B. S., to commit an offense under the UCMJ, to wit: introduction of Tramadol, a schedule IV-controlled substance onto an installation used by the armed forces, and in order to effect the object of the conspiracy the applicant put Tramadol in CW4 L. B. S.'s cargo pockets upon entering an armed forces installation on or about 30 August 2014. Charge III: Violating Article 86, UCMJ, for without authority being absent from the unit on or about 30 August 2014 until on or about 31 August 2014. Charge IV: Violating Article 92, UCMJ, for: Specification 1: Failing to obey a lawful general order by wrongfully possessing and consuming alcoholic beverages on or about 30 August 2014. Specification 2: Failing to obey a lawful order by purchasing medicine and controlled substances from Kosovo pharmacies on or about 30 August 2014. Charge V: Violating Article 112a, UCMJ, for: Specification 1: Wrongfully possessing 294 tables of Tramadol, each with a dosage of 50 milligrams, a schedule IV-controlled substance on or about 30 August 2014. Specification 2: Wrongfully use Tramadol, a schedule IV-controlled substance on or about 30 August 2014. Specification 3: Wrongfully use Amphetamine, a schedule III-controlled substance, on or about 27 May 2014. (2) Legal Consultation Date: 2 September 2014 through 2 October 2014 (3) Basis for Separation: Pursuant to applicant's request for discharge under the provisions of Chapter 3, AR 600-8-24, Resignation, In Lieu of Trial by Court-Martial. (4) Separation Decision Date / Characterization: 20 April 2015 / Under Other Than Honorable Conditions 4. SERVICE DETAILS: a. Date / Period of Appointment: 8 July 2009 / NIF (Ordered to active duty 21 November 2013 in support of Operation Joint Guardian) b. Age at Appointment / Education / GT Score: 30 / Bachelor of Science c. Highest Grade Achieved / MOS / Total Service: CW2 / 15D0, UH-60 Pilot / 13 years, 8 months, 8 days d. Prior Service / Characterizations: USAR, 26 April 2001 - 19 August 2001 / NA IADT, 20 August 2001 - 8 February 2002 / HD USAR, 9 February 2002 - 6 August 2003 / NIF ARNG, 7 August 2003 - 22 August 2004 / HD ARNG, 23 August 2004 - 5 April 2007 / NA ARNG, 6 April 2007 - 9 September 2008 / HD ARNG, 10 September 2008 - 2 October 2009 / NA ARNG, 3 October 2009 - 21 December 2010 / HD ARNG, 22 December 2010 - 20 November 2013 / NA e. Overseas Service / Combat Service: Hawaii, SWA / Iraq (5 August 2007 - 27 July 2008; 13 December 2009 - 21 September 2010); Kosovo (6 January 2014 - 23 December 2014) f. Awards and Decorations: ICM-2CS, MSM, AM-2, MUC, USA/USAF PUC, ARCAM-2, NDSM, AFEM, GWOTSM, ASR, OSR-2, AFRM-M, NATOMDL g. Performance Ratings: None during the period under review. h. Disciplinary Action(s) / Evidentiary Record: CID Report of Investigation, dated 2 September 2014, reflects the applicant was being investigated for wrongful possession of drugs and wrongful introduction of drugs. Memorandum for Commanding General, dated 15 April 2015, approved the findings and recommendations of the Flying Evaluation Board's (FEB) and directed the applicant's aviation service and aeronautical ratings be permanently terminated. The applicant was no longer authorized to wear the Army Aviation Badge. Charge sheet as described in previous paragraph 3c(1). i. Lost Time / Mode of Return: None j. Applicant Provided and/or AMHHR Listed PTSD / TBI / Behavioral Health Condition(s): Report of Mental Status Evaluation, dated 16 October 2014, reflects a diagnosis of Axis 1: Alcohol Dependence; Alcohol Induced Mood Disorder. The applicant was cleared for any administrative actions deemed appropriate by the command. The applicant could understand the difference between right and wrong and could participate in the proceedings. Report of medical assessment, dated 8 December 2014, reflects the applicant reported suffering from depression. Adult Preventive and Chronic Care Flowsheet, list Alcohol Dependence and Major Depression Single Episode Moderate as Chronic Illness. 5. APPLICANT-PROVIDED EVIDENCE: DD Form 293, Letter from VA, dated 7 January 2022, Leave and Earning Statement, Character Letter. 6. POST SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None submitted with the application. 7. STATUTORY, REGULATORY AND POLICY REFERENCE(S): a. Section 1553, Title 10, United States Code (Review of Discharge or Dismissal) provides for the creation, composition, and scope of review conducted by a Discharge Review Board(s) within established governing standards. As amended by Sections 521 and 525 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, 10 USC 1553 provides specific guidance to the Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records and Discharge Review Boards when considering discharge upgrade requests by Veterans claiming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), sexual trauma, intimate partner violence (IPV), or spousal abuse, as a basis for discharge review. The amended guidance provides that Boards will include, as a voting board member, a physician trained in mental health disorders, a clinical psychologist, or a psychiatrist when the discharge upgrade claim asserts a mental health condition, including PTSD, TBI, sexual trauma, IPV, or spousal abuse, as a basis for the discharge. Further, the guidance provides that Military Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records and Discharge Review Boards will develop and provide specialized training specific to sexual trauma, IPV, spousal abuse, as well as the various responses of individuals to trauma. b. Multiple Department of Defense Policy Guidance Memoranda published between 2014 and 2018. The documents are commonly referred to by the signatory authorities' last names (2014 Secretary of Defense Guidance [Hagel memo], 2016 Acting Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness [Carson memo], 2017 Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness [Kurta memo], and 2018 Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness [Wilkie memo]. (1) Individually and collectively, these documents provide further clarification to the Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records when considering requests by Veterans for modification of their discharge due to mental health conditions, including PTSD; TBI; sexual assault; or sexual harassment. Liberal consideration will be given to Veterans petitioning for discharge relief when the application for relief is based in whole or in part on matters relating to mental health conditions, including PTSD; TBI; sexual assault; or sexual harassment. Special consideration will be given to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) determinations that document a mental health condition, including PTSD; TBI; or sexual assault/harassment potentially contributed to the circumstances resulting in a less than honorable discharge characterization. Special consideration will also be given in cases where a civilian provider confers diagnoses of a mental health condition, including PTSD; TBI; or sexual assault/harassment if the case records contain narratives supporting symptomatology at the time of service or when any other evidence which may reasonably indicate that a mental health condition, including PTSD; TBI; or sexual assault/harassment existed at the time of discharge might have mitigated the misconduct that caused a discharge of lesser characterization. (2) Conditions documented in the service record that can reasonably be determined to have existed at the time of discharge will be considered to have existed at the time of discharge. In cases in which a mental health condition, including PTSD; TBI; or sexual assault/harassment may be reasonably determined to have existed at the time of discharge, those conditions will be considered potential mitigating factors in the misconduct that caused the characterization of service in question. All Boards will exercise caution in weighing evidence of mitigation in cases in which serious misconduct precipitated a discharge with a less than Honorable characterization of service. Potentially mitigating evidence of the existence of undiagnosed combat related PTSD, PTSD-related conditions due to TBI or sexual assault/harassment as causative factors in the misconduct resulting in discharge will be carefully weighed against the severity of the misconduct. PTSD is not a likely cause of premeditated misconduct. Caution shall be exercised in weighing evidence of mitigation in all cases of misconduct by carefully considering the likely causal relationship of symptoms to the misconduct. c. Army Regulation 15-180 (Army Discharge Review Board), dated 25 September 2019, sets forth the policies and procedures under which the Army Discharge Review Board is authorized to review the character, reason, and authority of any Servicemember discharged from active military service within 15 years of the Servicemember's date of discharge. Additionally, it prescribes actions and composition of the Army Discharge Review Board under Public Law 95-126; Section 1553, Title 10 United States Code; and Department of Defense Directive 1332.41 and Instruction 1332.28. d. Army Regulation 600-8-24, Officer Transfers and Discharges, sets forth the basic authority for the separation of commissioned and warrant officers. (1) Paragraph 1-23 provides the authorized types of characterization of service or description of separation. (2) Paragraph 1-23a, states an officer will normally receive an honorable characterization of service when the quality of the officer's service has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty, or the final revocation of a security clearance under DODI 5200.02 and AR 380-67 for reasons that do not involve acts of misconduct for an officer. (3) Paragraph 1-23b, states an officer will normally receive a general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service when the officer's military record is satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. (4) Paragraph 1-23c, states a discharge under other than honorable conditions is an administrative separation from the service. A discharge certificate will not be issued. An officer will normally receive an under other than honorable conditions when he or she: Resigns for the good of the Service; is dropped from the rolls (DFR) of the Army in accordance with paragraph 5-9; (3) is involuntarily separated due to misconduct, moral or professional dereliction, or for the final revocation of a security clearance under DODI 5200.02 and AR 380-67 as a result of an act or acts of misconduct, including misconduct for which punishment was imposed; and, is discharged following conviction by civilian authorities. (5) Chapter 3 prescribes the rules for processing voluntary resignations. Except as provided in paragraph 3-1b, any officer of the RA or USAR may tender a resignation under the provisions of this chapter. SECARMY (or designee) may accept resignations and orders will be issued by direction of the CG, HRC. An officer whose resignation has been accepted will be separated on the date specified in DA's orders or as otherwise directed by the DA. An appropriate discharge certificate as specified by the CG, HRC, will be furnished by the appropriate commander at the time the officer is separated. The date of separation, as specified or directed, will not be changed without prior approval of HQDA nor can valid separation orders be revoked subsequent to the specified or directed date of separation. (6) Paragraph 3-9 outlines the rules for processing requests for resignation for the good of the Service in lieu of trial by a general court-martial. (7) Paragraph 3-9i states an officer separated under this paragraph normally receives characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions. 8. SUMMARY OF FACT(S): The Army Discharge Review Board considers applications for upgrade as instructed by Department of Defense Instruction 1332.28. The applicant's Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR) of service, the issues and documents submitted with the application were carefully reviewed. The applicant did not properly annotate the enclosed application requesting a possible discharge upgrade. The Army Discharge Review Board considered the applicant for a possible upgrade as instructed in pertinent part by Department of Defense Instruction 1332.28, which stipulates a request for review from an applicant without an honorable discharge shall be treated as a request for a change to an honorable discharge unless the applicant requests a specific change to another character of discharge. The applicant contends the Charge Sheet is false. The applicant contends prior service was not recognized by command. The Board will consider the applicant service accomplishments and the quality of service according to the DODI 1332.28. 9. DOCUMENTS / TESTIMONY PRESENTED DURING PERSONAL APPEARANCE: In addition to the evidence in the record, the Board carefully considered the additional document(s) and testimony presented by the applicant at the personal appearance hearing. a. The applicant submitted the following additional document(s): N/A. b. The applicant presented the following additional contention(s): Applicant and counsel provided oral arguments in support of the contentions they provided in their written submissions and in support of their documentary evidence. c. Counsel / Witness(es) / Observer(s): 10. BOARD DISCUSSION AND DETERMINATION: a. As directed by the 2017 memo signed by A.M. Kurta, the board considered the following factors: (1) Did the applicant have a condition or experience that may excuse or mitigate the discharge? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor, a voting member, reviewed the applicant's DOD and VA health records, applicant's statement, and/or civilian provider documentation and found that the applicant has the following potentially-mitigating diagnoses/experiences: The applicant held in-service diagnoses of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Alcohol and Amphetamine Dependence, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder NOS, likely Antisocial Personality Disorder, PTSD, with additional diagnoses of Other Unspecified Trauma and Stressor Related Disorder, and Adjustment Disorder. (2) Did the condition exist or experience occur during military service? Yes. The applicant held in-service diagnoses of MDD, Alcohol and Amphetamine Dependence, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder NOS, and likely Antisocial Personality Disorder. (3) Does the condition or experience actually excuse or mitigate the discharge? Yes. The Board's Medical Advisor applied liberal consideration and opined that given the nexus between PTSD related trauma and substance use, avoidance, and difficulty with authority, the basis for separation is mitigated. (4) Does the condition or experience outweigh the discharge? Yes. After applying liberal consideration to the evidence, including the Board Medical Advisor opine, the Board determined that the applicant's PTSD outweighed the AWOL, disobedience, and wrongful possession, introduction, and use of controlled substances basis for separation for the aforementioned reason. b. Response to Contention(s): (1) The applicant contends the Charge Sheet is false. The Board considered this contention during proceedings, but ultimately did not address the contention due to an upgrade being granted based on the applicant's PTSD outweighing the applicant's basis for separation. (2) The applicant contends prior service was not recognized. The Board considered this contention during proceedings, but ultimately did not address the contention due to an upgrade being granted based on the applicant's PTSD outweighing the applicant's basis for separation. c. The Board determined that the applicant's PTSD outweighed the AWOL, disobedience, and wrongful possession, introduction, and use of controlled substances basis for separation; thus, warranting relief. d. Rationale for Decision: (1) The Board voted to change the applicant's characterization of service to Honorable because the applicant's PTSD mitigated the AWOL, disobedience, and wrongful possession, introduction, and use of controlled substances basis for separation. Thus, the prior characterization is no longer appropriate. (2) The Board voted not to change the applicant's reason for discharge or accompanying SPD code as the reason the applicant was discharged was both proper and equitable. (3) As there is no RE-code listed on the applicant's discharge paperwork, due to being an officer, no upgrade actions are required for this item. 11. BOARD ACTION DIRECTED: a. Issue a New DD-214: Yes b. Change Characterization to: Honorable c. Change Reason / SPD Code to: No Change d. Change RE Code to: No Change e. Change Authority to: No Change Authenticating Official: Legend: AWOL - Absent Without Leave AMHRR - Army Military Human Resource Record BCD - Bad Conduct Discharge BH - Behavioral Health CG - Company Grade Article 15 CID - Criminal Investigation Division ELS - Entry Level Status FG - Field Grade Article 15 GD - General Discharge HS - High School HD - Honorable Discharge IADT - Initial Active Duty Training MP - Military Police MST - Military Sexual Trauma N/A - Not applicable NCO - Noncommissioned Officer NIF - Not in File NOS - Not Otherwise Specified OAD - Ordered to Active Duty OBH (I) - Other Behavioral Health (Issues) OMPF - Official Military Personnel File PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder RE - Re-entry SCM - Summary Court Martial SPCM - Special Court Martial SPD - Separation Program Designator TBI - Traumatic Brain Injury UNC - Uncharacterized Discharge UOTHC - Under Other Than Honorable Conditions VA - Department of Veterans Affairs ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE AR20220011993 1